What is the Cloud Phone Answering service?
Virtual Receptionist is a Live Telephone Answering Service where a friendly, professional receptionist answers your phone and handles your calls exactly as you require. Just like if you had your own receptionist in-house. In fact it is that real, clients will think the receptionist is sitting in your office.

How does the Cloud Phone Answering service work?
With our receptionist service you simply allocate yourself a local phone number during the FREE Trial sign up process and that is the number that we know your business by. Whether clients call that number directly, or you divert any other number (02, 07 / 1300 / 1800 / your mobile etc) to that number, we will answer and handle your calls instantly.

If I sign up for a Free Trial is it totally FREE and no obligation to continue?
The FREE Trial is totally FREE and there is NO Obligation to continue with the service after the Free Trial. Whether you have 1 or 81 staff, all staff can be set up in the Free Trial to receive calls and messages and it is ALL totally FREE.

Is it true there are no security deposits or set up fees?
Yes it is true. There are NO security deposits and NO set up fees during or after the Free Trial.

Can I forward my existing number to Cloud Phone Answering?
Yes, you are able to call forward any number to us such as toll free 800 numbers or local land line numbers or cell phone numbers in your city. Diverted calls are seamlessly answered by our receptionists in your company name or the greeting of your choice.

Can your receptionists answer the calls I am missing when I am on another other call?
Yes, our receptionist will take any calls you are missing. You may be on another call or simply unable to answer the call because you are busy at the time. Our receptionists will take a detailed message and send to you instantly by email or text. Every call diverted to Cloud Phone Answering will be answered - no matter what your circumstances are at the time of the call.

Are you able to answer only some of our calls?
Yes. This is referred to as call overflow. Many businesses only want the calls answered when they are unable to, for example if you step out of the office for an hour or so, if you're on another call, at lunch, or simply because you have too many calls at one time. You can set up your diversion to us when the phone rings for more than a specified period or if it is busy/engaged and we will answer the phone as if we were in your office. Never miss that important call again!

Where are you based?
Cloud Phone Answering are based in Phoenix AZ. The telecommunications network that we use extends Nationwide across the United States and Canada giving us the largest range of local numbers of any competitor. We also have operations in Australia and the UK providing follow-the-sun phone answering capability.

When can I start using it and how long does it take to set up?
Set up can take as little as a few minutes. Once set up, you can immediately direct or divert your calls to Cloud Phone Answering and we will answer your calls to your specified requirements.

Do you give me a number and is it exclusive to me?
Yes. We dedicate an exclusive number to each client during the period of their subscription. This number can be used for business communications including letterhead and business cards or for advertising and promotions. If you have an existing number then you can simply forward your calls to us and they will be answered professionally and seamlessly by our receptionists.

Can I upgrade or downgrade my subscription?
Yes, you have the flexibility to upgrade or downgrade at any time to a more suitable subscription that meets your requirements and budget.

Is there a contract or lengthy agreement?
Cloud Phone Answering offer a month to month agreement with no contracts.

How do I pay for the service?
Our billing system is fully automated. We accept credit card payment only including MasterCard, Visa and AMEX. All invoices are viewable in real time on our client portal. We will email your tax invoice each month.

Can you transfer calls to a staff member?
Yes, we are able to transfer calls to any staff member on any phone (landline and cell phones) anywhere in the world. Our system can keep details of all staff members and their call answering preferences. These details can be updated at any time by accessing our on-line client portal.

Can I use the service for a day, week or month?
Yes, you are able to use our service for an hour, a day, a week, whenever you need our assistance.

Are we able to get additional numbers for each state?
Yes. We can provide you with a local number where you are based and if you require it we can provide multiple numbers in different area codes that you can publish to give your business a national appearance. We can also provide you with a Toll Free Number.

What sort of clients do you cater for?
Our clients range from small businesses and sole traders to large enterprises. We cater for professionals such as real estate agents, lawyers, accountants, psychologists, physiotherapists and chiropractors. We also assist a variety of start-up businesses, contractors, franchises and service providers including IT companies and websites.

Can you just take messages?
We are able to answer your call and explain that you are in a meeting or with a client, take a message and forward this message to you by email or text instantly.

Are you able to make appointments for us?
Yes, we have a dedicated team of highly experienced receptionists who can make appointments for you. This service is ideal professionals that depend on appointments being made and kept up to date while they are working with their clients. You can access the real-time on-line calendar from any internet connection.

If one of our clients asks a question are you able to answer it?
Yes. We are able to answer basic questions like directions to premises, fax number, web site, prices and other general questions. You can provide us with detailed call scripts and answers to FAQ's to assist your callers prior to transferring calls to you or taking messages.

Can we have multiple staff members configured on our account, with their own messaging preferences and diversion phone numbers?
Yes. Your service can have a Contact added for each staff member that is to receive messages or transferred calls. Contacts can also have a department specified so that messages can be routed appropriately based on the department that the caller requests.
If a dedicated phone number is required for a staff member (e.g. to have a different greeting than the main company line), then we can provision a phone number instead. Using our client portal to add and to manage Contacts is easy, and Cloud Phone Answering™ can also configure dedicated logins to give staff member access to manage their availability and message preferences.

Do you offer a 24/7 Service?
Yes. Your Cloud Phone Answering virtual reception service is available 24x7.